Landscape Architecture in the News Highlights (May 19 – June 1)

The Dirt has initiated a new bi-weekly feature highlighting news stories from around the Web on landscape architecture. For more LA in the News, check out LAND, ASLA’s newsletter. If you see others you’d like included, please email us at info@asla.org.

Public Gardens: A New Model Blossoms – Architectural Record, 5/19/13
“In the 1970s, it was a profession gripped with the ideals of modernism and the issues of postwar suburbanization. At best, plants were thought of more as architectural elements than organisms that could form ecosystems; landscape architects viewed themselves as design professionals, not gardeners.”

Open Season – New York Post, 5/22/13
“So you’re one of those Manhattanites fortunate enough to have outdoor space — a nice-size terrace, say, or maybe even a sprawling roof deck — but you haven’t had the time to turn it into that lush oasis you’ve always wanted. Yes, it’s a big job — and an expensive one — but considering that, say, 1,000 square feet of outdoor space can easily add hundreds of thousands of dollars of value to your home, it’s worth investing to make it look good.”

City Shaping VI: In 21st Century Toronto, There is Momentum – HuffPost Arts & Culture, 5/29/13
“Moreover, landscape architecture, often the last and frequently underfunded component in development projects, is leading the charge in places like the city’s Waterfront district with innovative and inspiring new work by Claude Cormier + Associés, West 8, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and others.”

Urbanism and the Landscape Architect – Planetizen, 5/30/13
“Landscape architects are not given nearly enough recognition for being urbanists. This is not because we don’t get enough work in cities but, rather, it is the types of projects we get or, more importantly, don’t get.”

Re-Cultivating the Forest City – World Landscape Architecture, 5/31/13
“The interior of this territory is organized by defining nine overlapping land-use categories. Each landscape type is not singularly contiguous, but collectively represents an overall approach to defining use, form and character within the lower valley. The intention is to create a highly varied set of adjacencies within the territory that not only produce a compelling landscape experience within the valley, but that also catalyzes investment in existing areas at the valley’s perimeter.”

These articles were compiled by Phil Stamper, ASLA Public Relations and Communications Coordinator